IN OUR OPINION

Editorial: Pay for performance

Published: Sunday, August 31, 2014 at 6:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Friday, August 29, 2014 at 5:33 p.m.

The ongoing job search of County Administrator Lee Niblock should serve as a wake-up call to the Marion County Commission.

For the second time this year, Niblock has informed his five bosses that he is applying for the same job in another county, this time neighboring Alachua County. Last fall, he was finalist for the county manager's job in Reno, Nevada.

Commissioners told the Star-Banner they believe the big reason their right-hand man is looking elsewhere is to earn more money after five years at the county helm, after seven successful years as the county's parks chief. They then said they are not inclined to pay more to keep him.

It is an odd stance to take for a board that earlier this year collectively rated Niblock's overall job performance at 4.6 on a scale of 1 to 5.

Being county administrator is a balancing act that involves public relations and political savvy, administrative know-how and a need for a breadth of knowledge about everything from roads to labor negotiations to garbage disposal. And, again, according to the commissioners themselves, Niblock does his job well.

Niblock earns $157,500 a year — the same amount he earned his first year in the job. While that is a big paycheck compared to the average Marion Countian, it is a specialized position in high demand and often pays more in other comparably sized counties. In addition to Alachua County, for example, neighboring Citrus County also is currently in the market for a county administrator, and that's just in our backyard.

Niblock has made the County Commission look good during his tenure, especially with his remarkable budget-balancing acts while largely maintaining a level of public services acceptable to the citizenry. He also has been an constant adviser to a commission whose members all have come to the board with virtually no political or civic experience.

In short, Niblock has earned his money.

And while he oversees an 1,400-employee enterprise with a half-billion-dollar budget, he is far from the best-paid public employee in our community. In fact, he is not even the highest-paid employee in county government; that distinction goes to county attorney Guy Minter.

The commission certainly has the right not to give Niblock a raise. After all, no county employee has received a raise in seven years.

And that is where we question the wisdom of the commission. While they frequently talk about running government like a business, they do not seem to understand the realities of supply and demand. They have a county administrator — and hundreds of other skilled employees — who are in demand in other communities (think firefighters and deputies, for starters), outstanding employees all by the commission's own measure. Yet, the commission is unwilling to consider rewarding them just so Marion County can keep them.

Conducting a search for one top-level employee is time-consuming and costly. But what happens if it turns out to be more than just the county administrator — and we believe it will come to that. Will the lost knowledge, efficiency and performance, not to mention the hiring costs, be worth it?

It is a question the commission needs to consider, whether Niblock leaves or not.

<p>The ongoing job search of County Administrator Lee Niblock should serve as a wake-up call to the Marion County Commission.</p><p>For the second time this year, Niblock has informed his five bosses that he is applying for the same job in another county, this time neighboring Alachua County. Last fall, he was finalist for the county manager's job in Reno, Nevada.</p><p>Commissioners told the Star-Banner they believe the big reason their right-hand man is looking elsewhere is to earn more money after five years at the county helm, after seven successful years as the county's parks chief. They then said they are not inclined to pay more to keep him.</p><p>It is an odd stance to take for a board that earlier this year collectively rated Niblock's overall job performance at 4.6 on a scale of 1 to 5.</p><p>Being county administrator is a balancing act that involves public relations and political savvy, administrative know-how and a need for a breadth of knowledge about everything from roads to labor negotiations to garbage disposal. And, again, according to the commissioners themselves, Niblock does his job well.</p><p>Niblock earns $157,500 a year — the same amount he earned his first year in the job. While that is a big paycheck compared to the average Marion Countian, it is a specialized position in high demand and often pays more in other comparably sized counties. In addition to Alachua County, for example, neighboring Citrus County also is currently in the market for a county administrator, and that's just in our backyard.</p><p>Niblock has made the County Commission look good during his tenure, especially with his remarkable budget-balancing acts while largely maintaining a level of public services acceptable to the citizenry. He also has been an constant adviser to a commission whose members all have come to the board with virtually no political or civic experience.</p><p>In short, Niblock has earned his money.</p><p>And while he oversees an 1,400-employee enterprise with a half-billion-dollar budget, he is far from the best-paid public employee in our community. In fact, he is not even the highest-paid employee in county government; that distinction goes to county attorney Guy Minter.</p><p>The commission certainly has the right not to give Niblock a raise. After all, no county employee has received a raise in seven years.</p><p>And that is where we question the wisdom of the commission. While they frequently talk about running government like a business, they do not seem to understand the realities of supply and demand. They have a county administrator — and hundreds of other skilled employees — who are in demand in other communities (think firefighters and deputies, for starters), outstanding employees all by the commission's own measure. Yet, the commission is unwilling to consider rewarding them just so Marion County can keep them.</p><p>Conducting a search for one top-level employee is time-consuming and costly. But what happens if it turns out to be more than just the county administrator — and we believe it will come to that. Will the lost knowledge, efficiency and performance, not to mention the hiring costs, be worth it?</p><p>It is a question the commission needs to consider, whether Niblock leaves or not.</p>